Tag: MMA photos

2015′s first “Photo of the Year” nomination goes to MMAFighting‘s Esther Lin, who captured the demoralizing moment at UFC 182 when Jon Jones palmed Daniel Cormier‘s head at the end of round 4, after taking the former Olympic wrestler down repeatedly. Cormier can barely summon the will to get angry; his spirit had already been broken.

At the time of this writing, CagePotato’s Facebook page is within spitting distance of 50,000 fans, so we figured we’d drop you a friendly reminder —PLEASE “Like” OUR PAGE, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!!! Honestly, it’ll be worth your time. We don’t just use our FB account to spam links to our articles; we also share some amazing photos and videos that you might not find elsewhere in your MMA media diet.

(Marco Ruas and Paul Varelans: When men were men, knuckles were bare, and wearing a singlet was totally acceptable.)

As thrilling as the UFC can be in the 21st century — with its well-rounded, well-conditioned fighters and deep talent pools — there’s something special about the Wild West days of the 1990s. Back then, the UFC featured a motley crew of martial artists of varying skill levels, some of whom didn’t really look like professional athletes. This was the era of single-night tournaments, non-existent weight classes, and burping into microphones. It’s hard not to miss those days.

Today we pay tribute to the old-school with some of our favorite rare and classic UFC photos from the ’90s. Check ‘em out in the gallery after the jump, and if we’ve left out any of your favorites, let us know in the comments section or on twitter.

Following his utterly dominant win over BJ Penn in their completely pointless trilogy fight at the TUF 19 Finalelast weekend, Frankie Edgar did not sound like a man who had just defeated a legend of the game for the third straight time. He was happy to have another win under his belt, sure, but in his post-fight speech with Jon Anik, he sounded withdrawn, disappointed. Guilty even. He sounded like a man who had just committed a mercy killing, and perhaps rightfully so.

“I almost feel bad about it,” said Edgar.

At the post-fight press conference that evening, Edgar was similarly short of words. Penn, Edgar’s quote unquote “greatest rival” and a man who made him a champion and a bonafide star in defeat, broke down in tears while answering questions about his legacy, the very legacy that Edgar had officially brought an end to just moments earlier. Frankie seemed almost sorry for having been the man to do it.

For a professional fighter, Frankie Edgar doesn’t appear to have a mean bone in his body, which is what makes this candid photo of Edgar and Penn embracing backstage following the TUF 19 Finale all the more telling. Simply put, Edgar’s face reads like a road map of heartache here. Sorrow, guilt, empathy, and respect — all captured in one perfectly timed photo.

Even today, the name “Saku” can induce feelings of euphoria in old-school MMA fans. Arguably the most important Japanese fighter in the sport’s history, Kazushi Sakuraba‘s fight career embodied the twin virtues of virtuosic creativity and never-say-die gameness. He is, was, and forever will be a legend. And now, you can buy his t-shirt.

Our friends at Scramble have kicked off an official collaboration with Sakuraba, beginning with the t-shirt you see above. Made with Saku’s full cooperation and blessing, the super soft 100% washed cotton shirts feature his stylized “KS” logo on the front — which he’s been rocking on his shorts since his PRIDE days — and the back of the shirt also sports several references to Sakuraba’s nicknames, including IQ Wrestler, Gracie Hunter, and 39. It’s pretty frickin’ sweet to be honest. If you want one for yourself, buy it here…or, take your chances with this week’s caption contest.

After the jump is a Photo of the Year candidate from this weekend’s Alvarez/Chandler rematch that reminded me of Saku just for its sheer bloodiness. Come up with a clever caption and submit it to the comments section of this post by Thursday night at midnight PT. The three best captions will all win a Sakuraba t-shirt, courtesy of Scramble. We’ll announce the results on Friday. Let us know if you have any questions, and good luck!

That messed-up sumbitch you see above is Mike Barreras, who had the utter misfortune of facing 2011 NCAA Division I Wrestling Champion Bubba Jenkins during the prelims of Bellator 97 last night. The fight ended by TKO early in round 2, but looking at Barreras afterwards, you’d think he’d been gang-stomped for hours. I can’t even tell where the eyeball ends and the swollen mess begins. Poor bastard probably doesn’t even know that his hat isn’t on straight.

For a man who made his reputation by striking fear into the hearts of his opponents, few people on Earth can express pure joy as well as Wanderlei Silva. Whether it’s the result of a well-earned victory, time spent with his loving family, a room full of bikini models, or a simple clove of garlic, Silva has found plenty of reasons to smile during his enviable life and career. So, in honor of his fight against Brian Stann tomorrow in the main event of UFC on FUEL 8, we decided to round up 21 photos of the Axe Murderer just being a happy-go-lucky son-of-a-gun. All of his violent curb-stompings are nice and all, but this is the way we’d really like to remember him.